Inspirational apparel

ABSTRACT

A method of providing inspirational expressions on apparel whereby the inside of the typically lower hem of a garment or item of apparel has thereon said expression oriented so that when the wearer of said apparel turn up said hem, said expression is viewable by said wearer in the appropriate orientation. This method is adaptable to a variety of items of apparel such as shirts, pants, shoes, belts, hats &amp; caps, socks and other items having a portion thereof which can be turned, folded or otherwise exposed at the discretion of the wearer to reveal said expressions.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention pertains to the field of apparel. More particularly, the invention pertains to an article of apparel having the option of being worn in one configuration and when the mood strikes, being immediately reconfigurable to reveal an inspirational message of some significance to the wearer

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is an original first filing; no provisional, continuation or other document has been filed with the United States Patent & Trademark Office by applicant pertaining to this subject matter.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

This invention was not developed with any type of government support. The government has no rights in applicant's invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the world of fashion and apparel, articles of clothing and different varieties of garments having popular branding, labeling and trademarks, or having been endorsed or even “autographed” by celebrities have become so popular that millions of consumers not only purchase such items of apparel, but do so in many different colors, even in some cases acquiring each new issue or model, making certain items so collectible that submarkets evolve to further highlight and add value to said brands and labels. These submarkets may be aftermarket sales, trading or collecting.

For example, Nike, originally a shoe company and now retailing everything from golf balls to sport bags, has made a fortune from endorsements by sports stars such as Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. In Jordan's case, Michael Jordan shoe styles upon new release create a fervor in not only the market of consumers who wish to wear such shoes, but also in collectors eager to add to their library of MJ shoes. Simultaneously, the Nike products endorsed and used by Tiger Woods satisfy consumers' appetite for products which Mr. Woods uses—clubs, hats, balls, putters, etc., with the availability of such products, both new and used being available on sites such as Craig's List and eBay.

Another growing phenomenon which has spawned hundreds of millions of dollars if not billions of dollars of sales in the apparel and consumer products area are slogans. Again pointing to Nike, the “Just Do It.” slogan, or in the case of a geographic example, “I [heart] New York” typify slogans which have their own identity. “Tebowing” is another recent example of a fad-type phenomenon involving a young quarterback, Tim Tebow, essentially genuflecting with his forehead resting on his first—his elbow of the same arm atop the more elevated knee—as a reference to a brief prayer type expression of divine thanks.

This leads to further examples of apparel or other products having some expression of significance, which can be grounded in pop culture or celebrity.

As further examples, Puma products sells huge amounts of orange colored apparel based on the fans and celebrity of golfer Ricky Fowler. Kobe Bryant, Lebron James and other major sports figures have their own lines of Nike shoes. Endorsements beyond sports include signature guitars of major artists by major musical equipment manufacturers such as Gibson, Fender, Gretsch, Taylor, Martin and others even include instruments “distressed” and “reliced” are made to look exactly like an instrument formerly played by artists such as music icons Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, the late Stevie Ray Vaughan or Jimi Hendrix. Baseball gloves like those used by Major League Baseball's Golden Glove winners, bats by famous sluggers and even earphones designed by rappers having no particular history of speaker of audio design are readily available—even at times short in supply.

With respect to slogans, “Have you hugged a child today?” or “My parents went to Paris and all I got was this lousy T shirt” are representative of the kinds of messages commonly adorning the front or back of a shirt, jacket, blouse or other commonly worn item of apparel.

In some cases, inspirational or religious statements are the focus of an item of apparel such as “Jesus Saves,” or as an attempt at a humorous twist, the common phrase found on U.S. currency has formed the basis of the “In God We Trust; All Others Pay Cash.” All kinds of charitable organizations, organized religions, grade school groups, government programs; e.g., DARE use apparel to get out a message. In nearly all cases, the wearer acquires the item in a variety of ways including purchase in a store, or online, as part of an entry (free or paid) in a charity or organizational event, by online purchase or other similar method.

As a part of this process, the message, slogan, logo, brand name or other adornment included on the wearable item is typically predetermined and the consumer/user either selects from an array of choices or benefits from the slogan of the charity or event he or she sponsors or participates in.

The common denominator among these various adornments is that they may be selected by the consumer, but are generated by some third person, organization or entity.

In some cases, do it yourself tee shirt vendors have provided an opportunity for the consumer to select the expression that they want on the article of apparel that they wish to wear. In this way, photographs, names, slogans, or other messages may be identified by the consumer or even supplied (as in the case of photographs) to be silkscreened on the front or back of the shirt, for example. In some cases, iron on letters or artful designs may be employed to allow the consumer to more uniquely select the design of the article of clothing in a more personal way.

What is not readily available in the prior art is a way to use an article of clothing to have on it an inspirational message of meaning to a wearer which can be selectively used to motivate or encourage the wearer at times when a psychological boost or words of encouragement could be accessed by the wearer without necessarily disclosing to nearby third persons the sensitive or personal nature of the motivational message. Take for an example a religious person in a public school where the local school board attitude toward scripture verses from the Bible are that they should not be displayed because the political correctness embraced by the local government prohibits such use. In such a case, a student who has chosen to have on of the Ten Commandments on his or her shirt to inspire adherence to Christian principles could be foreclosed from wearing an article of clothing in public school having such a message readily available for the child's continual reference. The result is that the child would not have the option to remind himself or herself of his spiritual lesson for the entire school day, or in transit to or from school. Some might say this is an abridgement of free speech; others would say it is respectful of the rights of those who are non-believers who attend that educational institution.

In another example, such a message of encouragement might be of a strictly personal nature, making its disclosure to the public by its display on the article of clothing embarrassing or inviting inquiry in which the wearer does not wish to engage. In such cases, traditional message type clothing does not provide a private means of providing such encouragement or motivation.

How then, can a student or other person desiring constant reminders of an encouraging nature, whether religious, popular, celebrity based or otherwise, access such a message privately without exposing said wearer's need, vulnerability, source of inspiration or otherwise disclosing this personal need?

Presently, the prior art of message or slogan based apparel does not afford a solution to the aforementioned problem.

What is needed then is a means of providing a means of encouragement, inspiration or even adulation for a hero to a wearer of clothing which can be accessed at the wearer's option without everyone nearby knowing what the wearer is doing or identifying his or her private source of inspiration or motivation?

What is needed then, is a private source of messaging which is substantially only accessible to the wearer at the time of his choosing, said messaging having as its vehicle an article of apparel.

What is also needed is a message system on an article of apparel which satisfies the wearer's choice of access of said message or motivational source without identification by third parties of the message or the wearer's motivational need.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Applicant has created a way to provide a motivational, educational or otherwise desired message or slogan on an article of clothing whereby the message is readily accessible by the wearer and yet can remain for the most part private if that is preferred.

Applicant's design can be applied to various articles of apparel including shirts, pants, shoes, socks, belts, hats, and more.

In the case of a shirt, the message or slogan is printed by whatever means is desired, such that when the bottom of the hem is turned up, the message is readable by the wearer. For example, where the wearer needs encouragement to keep on a diet, the message on the hem could consist of the message, “Remember, limiting lunch to 600 kcal means 2 inches off the belt in two months.” In reality, the message appears upside down relative to normal printing on the outside of the shirt, but when the hem is turned up so that the writing appears, the wearer sees the message. This could be accomplished discreetly by a student at lunch who just needs that nudge to keep himself or herself true to a diet, and necessarily noticeable to other students in the cafeteria.

Similarly, an amateur athlete aspiring to excel in high jumping might have the slogan on his shirt hem which says, “Fosbury didn't make it over the first time. Keep Jumping!”

With respect to music, a verse could be the subject matter waiting for the wearer to expose the inside of the hem of his or her shirt.

Also upside down writing turned right side up by virtue of rolling up the edge of the clothing could be contained on: the inside of the top of a sock; the tongue of a shoe when rolled over relaxed laces; inside the extended bill of a hat; on the inside of a hem of a sleeve; or the inside of one or more cuffs of a pair of pants. Further, a belt can have on its inside either near the end extending past the buckle or elsewhere, an inspirational slogan or message which, when exposed, provides the message to the wearer such that it can be read and understood. In this case, the message could be upside down or right side up, with the beginning of the message near the tip of the belt at the end not affixed with the buckle, or beginning further in, with the amount of belt rolled back predetermined by the beginning of the expression.

Furthermore, in the case of an upturned hat bill, the writing or message could be spelled right side up instead of upside down, but reversed such that when in front of a mirror, the wearer can read the slogan in the mirror and receive the motivational message by a different method.

In each case as described more fully below, the motivational expression or message may be as in the best mode of the invention, upside down to be read by the wearer, or optionally, right side up and in reverse such that the expression may be read in the reflection of a mirror.

While Applicant feels that the best mode of the invention is the application of the slogan or message to the inside of the hem of a shirt, the same scheme may be applied to other articles of clothing or other adornments personally worn such as set forth above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a frontal view of Applicant's invention as applied to a shirt showing the hem upturned and a slogan or expression thereon represented by various letters is proper orientation;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the bottom upturned cuff of a pant leg showing a slogan or expression thereon represented by various letters in proper orientation.

FIG. 3 is isometric view of a sock having a rolled over top showing a slogan or expression thereon represented by various letters in proper orientation.

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of an athletic shoe having its tongue turned over to expose a slogan t or expression thereon represented by various letters ns proper orientation; and

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of a ball cap with a bill having a slogan or expression thereon represented by various letters is proper orientation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of Applicant's invention 10, having a body 15 containing a lower hem 20. An optional expression 30 is positioned in a typical location on shirt 10, and a inspirational expression 40 is oriented on the inside of hem 20 so that a wearer may turn up said hem 20 and view said inspirational expression 40 at will.

FIG. 2 shows a pant leg 100 having a body 115 with cuff 120 upturned. Upon cuff 120 is slogan 140 in an orientation to be read conventionally by the wearer of the pants.

FIG. 3 discloses sock 300 having a body 315 the top of which 320 is rolled over to reveal slogan 340 in an orientation to be read conventionally by the wearer of the sock.

FIG. 4 depicts an athletic shoe 400 having a body 415, a tongue 420 having been rolled over to display a slogan 440 in an orientation to be read conventionally by the wearer of the shoe.

FIG. 5 shows an additional embodiment of the present invention wherein ball cap 500 having body 515 and bill 520 bent up to a degree exposes a slogan 540 thereon. The orientation of slogan 540 is such that it may be read by the wearer of said cap 500 when standing in front of a reflective surface, said slogan 540 thereby being readable as reflected unlike the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 through 4 above.

Accordingly, it is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention herein described are merely illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Reference herein to details of the illustrated embodiments is not intended to limit the scope of the claims, which themselves recite those features regarded as essential to the invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An article of inspirational attire comprising: a garment, said garment having a body, said body further comprising inside and outside surfaces, said body further forming a lower hem, said hem fashioned to at least partially encompass the wearer of said garment; an artistic expression provided on the inside of said hem, said expression furthermore provided in a substantially upside down orientation such that when rolled up, said expression may be conventionally read by said wearer.
 2. The invention of claim one wherein said garment comprises a shirt.
 3. An article of inspirational attire comprising: a pant leg having a body with an upper area terminating at the crotch of said pant and a lower portion hanging free, said body having inside and outside surfaces; an artistic expression provided on said inside surface of said lower portion, said expression further provided in a substantially upside down orientation such that when said lower portion is upturned creating a cuff, said expression may be conventionally read by said wearer.
 4. An article of inspirational attire comprising: a sock having a body with an open upper area and a lower closed toe, said body having inside and outside surfaces; an artistic expression provided on said inside surface of said open upper area, said expression further provided in a substantially upside down orientation such that when said upper portion is downturned a predetermined amount, said expression may be conventionally read by said wearer
 5. An article of inspirational attire comprising: A shoe or other footwear having a body with a tongue capable of being rolled over to expose the inner surface of said tongue, said inner surface typically held near the instep of the foot and not substantially visible; an artistic expression provided on the inside of said tongue, said expression oriented such that when said tongue is rolled over and away from said foot a predetermined amount, said expression may be conventionally read by the wearer of said shoe.
 6. An article of inspirational attire comprising: a hat or ball cap having a cap or hat portion and a brim or bill; said brim or bill having an upper side and an underside; an artistic expression provided on said underside, said expression oriented such that when said brim or bill is upturned, said wearer may conventionally read said expression in the reflection of a mirror.
 7. An article of inspirational attire comprising: a garment, said garment having a body, said body further comprising inside and outside surfaces; an artistic expression provided on said inside surface, said expression furthermore provided in a substantially upside down orientation such that when folded or rolled a predetermined amount, said expression may be conventionally read by said wearer.
 8. An article of inspirational attire comprising: a garment, said garment having a body, said body further comprising inside and outside surfaces; an artistic expression provided on said inside surface, said expression furthermore provided in a substantially upside down and reverse orientation such that when folded or rolled a predetermined amount, said expression may be conventionally read by said wearer in a mirror reflection. 